Bridging Content and Visual Design for a Meaningful K–12 Learning Experience

As a Product Designer on the Reveal Math K–12 team at McGraw Hill, I worked across multiple stages of print and digital product development to ensure that assets aligned with established style guides and educational goals.

Company
McGraw Hill

Time Frame
June 2023 - August 2024

    • Adobe InDesign

    • vjoon K4 Publishing System

    • Smartsheet

    • Asana

    • Microsoft 365

  • I supported the Reveal Math K–12 team by reviewing a high volume of educational assets, ranging from printed materials to interactive digital components.

    Print Assets

    • Student Edition Textbook, Two Volumes

    • Teacher Edition Textbook, Two Volumes

    • Student Practice Book

    • Teacher Resource Books (Differentiation & Assessment)

    Digital Assets

    • Interactive eBooks

    • PowerPoint Slide Decks

    During the review process, I worked to ensure visual consistency and alignment with the team’s style guide standards. In addition to collaboration with fellow Product Designers, I also collaborated cross-functionally with the content authoring team, accessibility team, and external design vendors to help maintain cohesion across the Reveal Math product line.

  • Ensuring Visual Consistency Across Formats

    The primary goal of my review process was to check each material against the established style guides, while also ensuring that the visual layout accommodated the educational content from the content authoring team. Examples of visual layout elements that I often checked across formats include:

    • Backgrounds and Icons

    • Typography

    • Font Styles

    • Spacing

    • Clarity of Art Pieces/Images

    When flagging any deviations from the guidelines, I would either leave notes for the external design vendors to implement my recommendations or simply implement the updates myself if minor enough—whichever seemed most efficient.

    Cross-Functional Collaboration

    I maintained regular communication with the content authoring team throughout the product development lifecycle to ensure that our visual designs were supporting instructional clarity, rather than restricting it. At the start of each product iteration review cycle, I would take part in product discovery sessions with the content authoring team—these sessions were crucial to understanding the intent of the content so that I could make informed design decisions during my reviews.

    Supporting Iterative Product Development

    As the primary Product Designer for all Grade 3 components of the Reveal Math project, I was responsible for ensuring the quality, consistency, and timely delivery of all visual design reviews at that level. I contributed feedback at multiple stages of the product development process—flagging design issues as early as possible, reducing back-and-forth in later stages, and maintaining a smoother handoff to vendors and other stakeholders. When needed, I stepped in to assist with other components outside my assigned grade level, demonstrating flexibility to help keep the project on schedule.

  • My contributions helped streamline design QA and reduce inconsistencies across a large volume of educational materials, supporting a more impactful product experience for educators and students.

    • Ensured timely, high quality delivery of all Grade 3 Reveal Math components by carefully reviewing a wide range of print and digital assets to maintain consistency throughout the development lifecycle.

    • Maintained alignment with product guidelines and evolving market requirements by conducting detailed visual reviews that supported both educational clarity and visual cohesion across platforms.

    • Enhanced close collaboration with the content authoring team to make sure visual and instructional elements worked together seamlessly—always with the end user in mind.

    • Supported success across grade levels by stepping in to assist with assets outside of my assigned grade level as needed, demonstrating adaptability and a commitment to team-wide quality and delivery goals.

    • Contributed to product value by proactively identifying visual layout inconsistency issues that could impact learning engagement, thus helping Reveal Math deliver a cohesive, accessible, and playful learning experience to K–12 students and educators.

  • This role deepened my appreciation for the value of design QA within large-scale educational product development. I gained hands-on experience collaborating across disciplines, and learned how visual design can do more than enhance content—it can actively support clarity, accessibility, and meaningful learning outcomes. The work sharpened my attention to detail, especially when balancing brand consistency with end-user needs. It also strengthened my communication skills as I regularly coordinated between internal teams and external vendors to keep projects aligned and moving forward efficiently.

    Technical Skills:

    • Visual Design QA for layout of print and digital assets

    • Style guide implementation and brand consistency

    • Accessibility-focused design review

    • Coordination of vendor feedback and file handoffs

    • Content-aware design support with end-user needs in mind

    Soft Skills:

    • Cross-functional collaboration with content authoring team, external vendors, and other stakeholders

    • Adaptability to shifting priorities and grade-level needs

    • Detail-oriented approach to large-scale design systems

    • Balancing visual design with instructional clarity and accessibility

    • Creative problem-solving in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment